While the 2022 Canadian Dragon Boat Championships have yet to start, 91原创鈥檚 team D鈥橣yance women鈥檚 dragon boat team is already feeling like winners.

That鈥檚 because this year, for the first time, D鈥橣yance, who compete out of the Fort 91原创 Canoe Club, will be in the new Senior D division for 69 and older competitors when the four-day national competition begins Aug. 18 at Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal.

The new division is the result of sustained lobbying by D鈥橣yance team captain Ruth Bedell and fellow dragon boaters.

鈥淲e have been fighting for five years to get a Senior D division for 69 and over,鈥� Bedell told the 91原创 Advance Times.

鈥淚t is a major victory,鈥� the Walnut Grove resident commented.

Bedell said during the years of lobbying, the reluctance by the sport administrators to approve a division for that age range wasn鈥檛 clear.

鈥淚 guess they didn鈥檛 think there would be enough teams,鈥� Bedell remarked.

VIDEO: On the lookout for paddlers, 70-plus

Bedell, who is 75, heads a team of 27 paddlers aged 69 to 82 and reports there are teams from White Rock and Abbotsford in the same age range.

In March, a 鈥溾�� was created by Dragon Boat Canada 鈥渋n recognition of the determined work that Ruth has undertaken to have the Senior D category viable across Canada and established at the Canadian Dragon Boat Championships.鈥�

It will be awarded to the overall top ranking Canadian Senior D (69-plus) women鈥檚 team at the Canadian Dragon Boat Championships, starting this year.

鈥淚鈥檓 a little embarrassed about that,鈥� Bedell remarked.

The next step, she said, is to get the Senior D 69-plus division recognized internationally, ideally in time for the world championships, to be in Ravenna, Italy in 2024.

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For more information on the Fort 91原创 Canoe Club and drop-in dragon boat sessions, visit

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